Hold Congress Accountable

About FreedomConnector

Find activists, groups, and events right in your own neighborhood. Join FreedomConnector to get involved and learn more about key issues threatening our economic freedom. Whether you’re looking for like-minded people, trying to boost your existing group’s impact, or simply trying to stay up on current events, FreedomConnector is the place to start. See what’s happening in your state today!

Search FreedomWorks

Resources

Blog

ObamaCare - President was not and is not Truthful

Wherever politics intrudes upon economic life, political success is readily attained by saying what people like to hear rather than what is demonstrably true. Instead of safeguarding truth and honesty, the state then tends to become a major source of insincerity and mendacity. – Hans F. Sennholz

Seeking a favorable image, the politician talks in generalities, exaggerates and obfuscates.

ObamaCare - President was not and is not Truthful

In 2010, a supporter of Obamacare, Jack M. Balkin of Yale Law School, opined the “penalty” was actually a tax and deemed it Constitutional. Mr. Balkin also observed that President Obama was not being truthful with the American people. The New York Timesreported:

Mr. Obama “has not been honest with the American people about the nature of this bill,” Mr. Balkin said last month at a meeting of the American Constitution Society, a progressive legal organization. “This bill is a tax. Because it’s a tax, it’s completely constitutional.

Previously, the President was untruthful when emphatically denying it was a tax. The Wall Street Journalreports:

President Barack Obama, talking to George Stephanopoulos on ABC News, September 2009:

Stephanopoulos: Your critics say it [the mandate] is a tax increase.

Obama: My critics say everything is a tax increase. My critics say I'm taking over every sector of the economy. You know that. Look, we can have a legitimate debate about whether or not we're going to have an individual mandate or not, but—

Stephanopoulos: But you reject that it's a tax increase?

Obama: I absolutely reject that notion.

Deceitfully, after ObamaCare became a law and lawsuits were filed challenging its Constitutionality, the Obama legal defense intentionally asserted that ObamaCare was actually a tax. The New York Timesreports:

Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends Insurance Mandate as a Tax

When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government’s “power to lay and collect taxes.”

And that power, they say, is even more sweeping than the federal power to regulate interstate commerce.

Thus, in court, the Obama administration claimed ObamaCare was a tax, but immorally continued to tell the public it was a penalty. Additionally deceitful, the White House claimed ObamaCare would not raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year. Again, the Wall Street Journal:

From the White House website, December 2009:

"The Truth on Health Care Reform and Taxes"

As we move into the final stage of the historic push for health reform, opponents of reform are testing the age old adage that if you only say something enough times you can somehow make it true. Yesterday, we heard a new version of the old, tired refrain that the health reform bills in Congress would raise taxes on the middle class. So let's set the record straight: First, the health insurance reform bill being considered in the Senate does not raise taxes on families making less than $250,000.

Following the Obama Administration's deceptions, the Democrats continued to intentionally mislead the public: The WSJ:

Then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, July 2010: "I don't see this as a tax."***

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius appearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, February 2012: "It [the mandate] operates the same way a tax would operate, but it's not per se a tax."***

Office of Management and Budget Director Jeffrey Zients appearing before House Budget Committee, February 2012:

Rep. Scott Garrett (R., N.J.): If I make under $250,000 and I do not buy health insurance as I'm required to under the Affordable Care Act, is that a tax on me or is that not a tax on me? A moment ago you said there are no tax increases.

Zients: There aren't.

Garrett: So that's not a tax?

Zients: No.

Today, every sentient American knows five justices of the Supreme Court have ruled ObamaCare is a tax, which is the sole reason it is Constitutional. Despicably, the Obama Administration and the Democratic Party continue to spin that ii is merely a penalty.

First, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, who has sworn to preserve and protect the Constitution, has said:

Call it what you will.

Worse, the Obama Administration continues their deceits. Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary, continues to mislead and cover-up for their previous mendacities. As the UPIreports:

Carney: It's a penalty, not a tax

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The Obama administration believes those in the United States who choose not to buy health insurance will be paying a penalty, not a tax, a spokesman said.

…It's a penalty because you have a choice," Carney said. "You don't have a choice to pay your taxes, right? You have a choice to buy -- if you can afford health insurance. … So if you don't buy it, and you can afford it, it is an irresponsible thing to do to ask the rest of America's taxpayers to pay for your care when you go to the emergency room. So your choice is to purchase healthcare reform or a penalty will be administered.

This tax/penalty obfuscation is the continuing deceit and corruption associated with all aspects of ObamaCare.

First, there were the “deals” between doctors, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, insurers, AARP, etc and the Obama Administration -exchanging support for the legislation and receiving an enormous, financial benefit in return.

Followed by legislators trading votes for political favors. Majority Leader Harry Reid bought the votes of a least two senators – the Louisiana Purchase and the Cornhusker Kickback. Once ObamaCare became law, the federal bureaucracy had extraordinary rule-making power. Up to the present, arbitrary rules are being promulgated and politically motivated waivers are given to unions and some businesses.

Today, Jay Carney of the White House continues to spin it is a “penalty,” and the deceit is condoned by the President. Denying ObamaCare is a tax and it will not increase taxes exemplifies the lack of virtue of President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius and many of his supporters.

In the case of ObamaCare, all the moral transgressions have been caused by Democrats. However, as envisioned by our Founders, America has few people of virtue in political life – on both sides of the aisle. This must change. Without virtuous leaders, our freedom and prosperity will continue to decline and will be destroyed.

Immediately, America must elect virtuous leaders and stop the shenanigans of American politicians. This is absolutely essential in order to continue the freedoms set forth for us by our Constitution.

James Madison, John Adams and George Mason appreciated that no government will survive without virtuous leaders. As stated in a previous post on the President’s abuse of executive power:

The aim of every political Constitution, is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.– James Madison

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our constitution as a whale goes through a net.– John Adams

No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.– George Mason

Obama, Reid, Pelosi and their accolades have intentionally abused their power and deceived the American people. This violation of virtue is exactly what Madison, Adams and Mason feared would destroy freedom and prosperity in America. So far, their violation of virtue has caused a great mistrust of government and contributes to fascilitate America’s economic and moral decline.

Carney was speaking directly to TAXPAYERS... " You don't have a choice to pay your taxes, right?" It's an going to be a war of the classes at the polls! Over 50% of Americans don't pay TAXES! Is that unAmerican or not?

There is a renter's rebate for people who rent here in Vermont. As long as you rent a property and don't "own" the property, you'll receive a lump sum of your rental fees back from the State. It seems people are rewarded for backward business practices. If you fall below the poverty line, YOU qualify for all types of Federal & State assistance regardless of nationality. How can any business compete against the Federal government? The ultimate goal here is to strangle the free market system. It seems Religion and Healthcare are the biggest ticket items to attack since the TAXPAYER has a moral obligation to be successful not only in business but insuring a healthy life for future generations to come... Obama and Soros are bigots to morality and that needs to end...

In Laymen terminology . " Bunch of double talk, by the Obamma Administration ! " Yupp kind of say's it all ! Napoleone once said, " The history of a battle, is two pre -agreed apaun lie's by both opposeing force's . " Or somethin of that peculiarity, and notion . Kind of fitt's here I think .

Before the initial ObamaCare open enrollment period, the Obama administration emphasized the need for millennials -- young people between the ages of 18 and 34 -- to sign up for health plans available on the exchanges. Health insurance companies need diversity in their risk pools to offset costs, because older and sicker people tend to utilize their coverage more often than the young and healthy.

One of the big arguments for ObamaCare is that the law has mechanisms in place that control healthcare costs, or at least that's what Americans have been told countless times by President Barack Obama and others. They've seized on recent reports of the slowdown in healthcare spending, frequently asserting that the 2010 law is responsible. In reality, the looming effects of the Great Recession is the main reason why healthcare spending has risen at a slower pace.

ObamaCare's individual mandate and bailouts aren't enough for the health insurance industry. The looming expiration of the two-year Medicaid payment increase has, once again, put health insurers on the same side as President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, who want to extend the payments to doctors.

Roughly a month before videos surfaced in which he disparaged American voters and bragged about deceptive tactics used to ram ObamaCare through Congress, Jonathan Gruber, the controversial MIT economist paid nearly $400,000 to help craft the law, appeared on a panel with several other healthcare policy experts to talk about its progress and the continuing debate on healthcare reform.

The Obama administration continues boast of the rise in Medicaid enrollees. Just before Christmas, for instance, Cindy Mann, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hailed as a "milestone achievement" the addition of 9.7 million Americans to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) since October 2013.

A new Kaiser poll finds that 64 percent of Americans unfavorably view the individual mandate—the provision that requires nearly every American to purchase health insurance or else pay a fine. This is no surprise because the individual mandate has always been one of the most politically toxic parts of ObamaCare. You’ll notice that the Obama administration has stayed silent about the unpopular provision in their enrollment push to avoid backlash.

The "CRomnibus" government funding bill passed handily last weekend, but not before Senators Lee and Cruz had their say. In a controversial move, the two senators managed to put their colleagues on record voting for or against funding President Obama's latest unconstitutional executive power grab. Many Republican senators, however, protest too much, claiming that Lee and Cruz may have allowed the Democrats to pass a number of executive nominees because of their insistence upon making their point.